Long-running TV series (think "NCIS" for example) find it hard to resist recycling old footage and characters for both nostalgia and dramatic purposes, but the technique has rarely been done better than this Chandra Wilson showcase episode.
It makes its central point forcefully, as doctor played by the often cast as ineffectual guy Mark Moses (see: "Mad Men") keeps mis-diagnosing Chandra, who knows better and keeps requesting the necessary tests to find out about her suspected imminent heart attack. The problem with women not being given the proper examination due to heart symptoms traditionally associated with those exhibited by men is a serious issue, and this segment points that out.
With good acting by the bench strength ensemble (series' current stars get a rest this time) we also get to see a half dozen of former stars pop up briefly in vault footage, as so many scenes from Chandra's earlier career are used in nearly "dying flash" fashion to illustrate her various stresses over the years. Childhood and teen action with well-cast thesps as young Chandra and her tough love mother add to the panache.
Like another Shondra Rhimes TGIT series and its recent handling of Quinn's supposed murder, the show cannot resist teasing the viewer mightily with so much emphasis on doom and foreshadowing that one waits in horror for the beloved Wilson character to expire, but a happy ending twist saves her to fight the good fight another day. I enjoyed being lightly bamboozled, and enjoyed the entire evening of TGIT and its famed plot twists and red herrings, all in service of many plugs for a new spinoff from "Grey's" concerning fire fighting (already a topic cluttering the airwaves) soon to replace the concluding "Scandal" show.
It makes its central point forcefully, as doctor played by the often cast as ineffectual guy Mark Moses (see: "Mad Men") keeps mis-diagnosing Chandra, who knows better and keeps requesting the necessary tests to find out about her suspected imminent heart attack. The problem with women not being given the proper examination due to heart symptoms traditionally associated with those exhibited by men is a serious issue, and this segment points that out.
With good acting by the bench strength ensemble (series' current stars get a rest this time) we also get to see a half dozen of former stars pop up briefly in vault footage, as so many scenes from Chandra's earlier career are used in nearly "dying flash" fashion to illustrate her various stresses over the years. Childhood and teen action with well-cast thesps as young Chandra and her tough love mother add to the panache.
Like another Shondra Rhimes TGIT series and its recent handling of Quinn's supposed murder, the show cannot resist teasing the viewer mightily with so much emphasis on doom and foreshadowing that one waits in horror for the beloved Wilson character to expire, but a happy ending twist saves her to fight the good fight another day. I enjoyed being lightly bamboozled, and enjoyed the entire evening of TGIT and its famed plot twists and red herrings, all in service of many plugs for a new spinoff from "Grey's" concerning fire fighting (already a topic cluttering the airwaves) soon to replace the concluding "Scandal" show.